Sullivan appeared before the town council Thursday to answer parents who are worried that Randolph officials could soon close the Zapustas Ice Arena, cutting off ice time for Braintree's fast-growing youth hockey program. The mayor assured parents that the Randolph rink would be open for at least another year and said the town is still working to get Braintree its own rink.

"We have a little more breathing room," Sullivan said.

Town officials have been in negotiations with a private developer who they want to build an indoor swimming pool and ice rink next to Braintree High School in exchange for 4 to 6 acres of town land and a $1.5 million contribution from the town. The town money would come from the estate of August Petersen, an East Braintree tugboat captain who left the town $65,000 in 1963 for the construction of a pool.

The negotiations have taken on new urgency for Braintree hockey parents as rumors have circulated that Randolph could close the Zapustas rink, which officials say is primarily used by people from out of town. Braintree Town Councilors Dan Clifford and Sean Powers said in October that the town should build the rink before the pool to address the shortage of ice time.

Sullivan said Thursday that Randolph Town Manager David Murphy had assured him the rink would remain open for at least another year, though its fate after that is uncertain. He did not say when he thinks negotiations would be completed for the proposed Braintree sports complex.

"We're working at it, we're focused on it and I'm hoping we'll get a good result," Sullivan said.

Tom McDonough, president of Braintree Youth Hockey, said the organization has doubled to include 600 children in the last four years and now spends about $500,000 renting ice rinks in other towns.

In other business Thursday, town councilors voted to approve a property tax break worth about $900,000 for Haemonetics, a medical technology company that says it needs the break to invest $10 million into converting its manufacturing plant into a research center. Town officials say the deal would pay for itself by 2025 and would not lead to increased tax bills for residential and commercial property owners.